News

Here you can keep up with the latest from Reading’s 1000+ voluntary organisations and other voluntary sector news from around the area.

  • Vaccinating carers across Berkshire West
    4 March 2021

    The vaccination programme in Berkshire West has been gathering pace and is delivered through: 12 GP-led centres 1 pharmacy 1 mass vaccination centre at the Madejski Stadium in Reading The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations (JCVI) have developed a priority list based on people’s risk of hospitalisation and death from Covid-19. Carers are included in group 6 for ...

  • Berkshire Vision – remote activities in March and employability programme
    3 March 2021 Berkshire Vision Logo

    Berkshire Vision’s March activities programme for blind and partially sighted people across the county Following the Prime Minister’s announcement, the two face-to-face activities won’t be able to go ahead, but the remote programme will continue as planned, including hot chocolate tasting and pottery painting. Download the programme for March here. Employability programme Berkshire Vision’s employability programme, ‘Eyes on ...

  • Coronavirus testing for staff and volunteers – guidance from ACAS, ICO and DCMS
    2 March 2021

    Your organisation may already have staff and volunteers in key worker roles or you may be planning for reopening of services. Here are some resources that we have gathered to help you consider best practice and the law when considering coronavirus testing for staff and volunteers: ACAS has published this guidance on agreeing testing arrangements with ...

  • Mental health toolkit for practitioners working with families
    26 February 2021

    Mental health toolkit from the Troubled Families Programme The set of tools and resources below are being shared by DHSC, NHS England and NHS Improvement, Public Health England and MHCLG to local partners working with children, families and communities. (Information about the Brighter Futures for Children Mental Health Support Team, and online resources such as Kooth, can ...

  • NHS Blood and Transplant Covid-19 Plasma Donor Campaign
    25 February 2021

    NHS Blood and Transplant is currently leading an urgent programme to enable a planned UK trial that could produce a vital treatment to save more lives. This requires plasma donations from patients who have had Covid-19 and are now recovering. We welcome all donations but are seeking donations in particular from recovering male patients who are 18-65 ...

  • Berkshire Youth are recruiting for new Kickstart work placements – deadline 26 March 2021
    25 February 2021

    New scheme will give young people’s careers a kickstart Berkshire Youth are excited to announce that they are now recruiting for new Kickstart work placements. The deadline for applications is 26 March 2021. We know young people are struggling to find employment at the moment especially as certain sectors such as hospitality and retail have been particularly ...

  • Volunteers providing Nepali and Hindi translations at vaccine hub
    25 February 2021

    Dhan Bahadur Rana Magar, Jane Brener, Wendy Mentiply and Tek Bahadur Gurung (pictured above) are volunteers supporting the vaccination rollout at the Reading Central and Whitley Vaccination Hub. Dhan and Tek are with the Greater Reading Nepalese Community Association and have been welcoming people to the hub and providing Nepali and Hindi translations. Huge thanks to ...

  • Cold winter payments and support with energy costs
    24 February 2021

    A guide to support available for people struggling with fuel payments If you have any queries you can contact Reading’s WinterWatch Service, who work closely alongside Citizens Advice Reading. See below for some FAQs. I’m about to run out of energy on my pay as you go meter, what do I do? The resident will need to contact ...

  • Government roadmap to lifting lockdown – Spring 2021
    24 February 2021

    This article was last updated on 2/3/21 with updated resources in the ‘further support’ section. The government has published the ‘Covid-19 Response – Spring 2021’ setting out the roadmap out of the current lockdown for England. This explains how the restrictions will be lifted over time. A shorter summary is also contained at the start of ...

  • Get Berkshire Active – chair based exercise sessions
    24 February 2021

    Chair Based exercise classes are designed to help improve strength and balance from the comfort of your own chair while focusing on aiding muscles used in everyday activity – all performed at a pace that is suitable for the participant. Chair Based Exercise can be done at home and is easy to fit in to ...

  • Get ready for Census 2021!
    24 February 2021

    Households across Reading will soon be asked to take part in Census 2021 The census is a once-in-a-decade survey that gives us the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales. It has been carried out every decade since 1801, with the exception of 1941. It will be the first time the ...

  • Would you be interested in supporting a School Streets scheme?
    23 February 2021 Women walking on road near school, boy on bike

    A school in East Reading is hoping to promote walking and cycling to school, and clean air for everyone, by starting a School Streets scheme. What are School Streets? A School Street is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic ...

  • Risk to elderly and vulnerable people – lost Thames Water contractor ID cards
    22 February 2021

    Message shared on behalf of Thames Valley Police We have been informed by Thames Water that a number of ‘Contractor’ identification cards have been lost in transit. The cards have been deactivated so they cannot be used to gain access to any Thames Water sites but there is concern that they could be used for criminal activity ...

  • Meet Tina Farrow, manager and director of Dee Caf Community Cafe
    18 February 2021

    Tina Farrow is the manager and director of Dee Caf Community Cafe CIC. Tina has previously worked in prison education, including as curriculum leader at a young offender institution, and also runs a food education business, Tinkatots, offering cookery classes for children. She spoke to us about why she started Dee Caf and the community ...

  • Funded internships with the University of Reading
    18 February 2021

    Are you looking for support or a fresh perspective on a project? The Reading Internship Scheme supports organisations in connecting up with our undergraduates through 4, 6 and 8 week internships. We provide a 50% grant towards an intern’s salary for profit earning SMEs, and a 100% grant for charities and not for profits. You can work ...

  • Covid-19 community testing open to voluntary sector staff and volunteers in Reading
    17 February 2021

    Around one in three people who have coronavirus have no symptoms and will be spreading it without realising it Local community testing began at South Reading Leisure Centre on 10 February and at Rivermead Leisure Centre on 15 February – to stop the spread of the virus in Reading. Rapid-turnaround lateral flow tests use a mouth ...

  • PinkNews Awards – nominate by 29 March 2021
    17 February 2021

    The annual PinkNews Awards aims to recognise the incredible contributions of those who campaign for LGBT+ equality worldwide, whilst celebrating moments of unprecedented LGBT+ achievement. Each year, the community comes together to highlight the work of businesses, organisations and individuals across the globe. The 2021 PinkNews Awards will take place in November. Nominations are now ...

  • Updated shielding guidance and reviewing your risk assessments
    17 February 2021

    The government has updated its shielding guidance to expand the list of those who are on the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) list. There are now three ways that an individual may be identified as CEV: They have one or more of the conditions listed here. Their clinician or GP has added them to the Shielded Patient List because, ...

  • RVA Social Prescribing Link Workers – closing date 15 March 2021
    17 February 2021

    An exciting opportunity to work in a small supportive team making a big difference to the lives of people in Reading Reading Voluntary Action (RVA) is looking to recruit additional Social Prescribing Link Workers to provide social prescribing support for people in South and West Reading. RVA and Age UK Berkshire have been delivering social prescribing in ...

  • Business Interruption Insurance – guidance from the FCA
    16 February 2021

    Following the landmark decision from the Supreme Court on 15 January 2021 in the test case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the FCA has now helpfully published some guidance and FAQs to help organisations to better understand if they may be able to make a claim under their insurance cover for business interruption ...

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